




































American International Journal of Social Science Research 

Vol. 11, No. 1; 2022 

ISSN 2576-103X   E-ISSN 2576-1048 

Published by CRIBFB, USA 

1 

 

THE EFFECT OF LOCUS OF CONTROL, CULTURAL 

INTELLIGENCE AND ACADEMIC SELF-EFFICACY ON THE 

ACADEMIC ADJUSTMENT AMONG YEMENI STUDENTS IN 

TURKEY 
 

Ahmed Gamal Ahmed Gawas 

PhD Student 

Department of Psychology 

 Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Turkey 

E-mail: ahmed.gawas1@gmail.com 

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0273-170X 

 
 

Received: January 01, 2022      Accepted: February 04, 2022            Online Published: March 01, 2022  

 

DOI: 10.46281/aijssr.v11i1.1443             URL: https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v11i1.1443 

 

 

ABSTRACT 

The current study aims to examine the correlations between both of locus of control, academic 

self-efficacy, cultural intelligence and academic adjustment. It also seeks to predict academic 

adjustment from locus of control, academic self-efficacy and cultural intelligence. In addition, the 

present study aims to examine whether cultural intelligence mediates the relationship between 

academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment. In this study 262 Yemeni students studying in 

Turkish universities participated. A list taken from the Rotter's scale was developed to measure 

the locus of control. College academic self-efficacy scale (CASES), cultural intelligence scale 

(CIS) and the student adaptation to college questionnaire (SACQ) were used to collect data of 

study. The results show that there are statistically significant correlations among all the variables 

of study. Results also indicated that academic adjustment was be predicted from academic self-

efficacy and locus of control. Furthermore, results show that the cultural intelligence did not 

mediate the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment. There are 

statistically significant differences in academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment due to 

educational level. There are also differences in academic adjustment due to gender. 

 

Keywords: Locus of Control, Cultural Intelligence, Academic Self-Efficacy, Academic 

Adjustment, Yemeni Students in Turkey. 

 

JEL Classification Codes: H75. 

INTRODUCTION 
Human behavior is determined by a number of factors that guide and explain it (Alyas, 2017). 

Sometimes these factors determining human behavior stem from within and depth of the human 

being, and other times these factors are external and related to the environment and situations 

mailto:ahmed.gawas1@gmail.com


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rather than they are related to the human being (Miller et al., 2003). Locus of control and academic 

self-efficacy are one of the factors affecting an individual's behavior. In addition to cultural 

intelligence, which has a major role in adaptive behavior of students. 

 

Locus of Control 

Locus of control is one of the basic concepts in personality psychology. It is important to 

understand human behavior in different life situations, whether they are psychological or social 

situations (Sarhan, 1996). The term of locus of control is one of the most important concepts in 

social learning theory (Rotter, 1966). It refers to an individual's perception of the root causes 

underlying successes and failures in his or her life (Weiner, 2003). An individual can see these 

causes as internal or external causes responsible for the events in his life (Miller et al., 2003). 

When the individual believes, in most cases, that the reasons responsible for his success 

and failure are due to his/her own capabilities and result from factors under his control, his/her 

locus of control is internal (Bani-Khaled, 2009; Miller et al., 2003). But if an individual believes 

that his/her success and failure is due to something outside his control then his/her locus of control 

is external (Rinn et al., 2014). In other words, the individual who realizes that his success or failure 

is due to the effort he or she has put in or has not put forth is called a person with an internal locus 

of control (Bani-Khaled, 2009). But if the individual always perceives that his success and failures 

are due to luck or chance, then this individual is called as an individual with an external locus of 

control. 

Locus of control determines the likelihood that an individual will behave for a particular 

pattern of behaviors in some situations, as well as his excessive involvement in this or that behavior 

(April et al., 2012). People with an internal locus of control tend to engage in adaptive behaviors 

more than people with an external locus of control (Naik, 2015). For example, in school exams, if 

the student explains failure as a result of exerting little effort (internal locus of control), may he or 

she realize that the increase in effort will cause a positive change in his future results. On the 

contrary, if the student interprets failure as the result of a difficult test or an unfair teacher (external 

locus of control), the individual may believe that his failure is due to factors outside his control 

and may not see any chance of success in the future (Choudhury & Borooah, 2017). 

In addition to the locus of control, there is an important role of mental abilities and 

personality traits as determinants of human behavior. A number of studies have indicated that there 

is a set of personality traits that are distinguished by individuals over others that make them more 

effective in communicating and adapting in different cultural milieus. These capabilities and traits 

are called cultural intelligence (Thomas, 2008). 

 

Cultural Intelligence  

Earley and Ang (2003) defined cultural intelligence as the ability of a person to adapt and perform 

his/her tasks effectively in a different cultural context. It includes understanding different cultures 

and developing a method for interacting with those cultures and acquiring the skills to perform 

tasks in environments that are culturally different from one's own (Dehmeche, 2015). It can be said 

that cultural intelligence is an integrated process of cultural knowledge and skills related to 

metacognition, which allows individuals to adapt and shape their culture based on the cultural 

environment in which they live ((Thomas, 2008). 

Some studies indicate that there are four dimensions of cultural intelligence. These 

dimensions are metacognition, cognition, motivation and behavior (Ang & Van Dyne, 2009; 

Dehmeche, 2015; Earley & Ang, 2003; Shannon & Begley, 2008). 



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Metacognition  
It refers to the mental process that enables the individual to perceive what is going on around him 

when he is exposed to situations and experiences in different cultures. The source of this ability 

comes from the individual's understanding of cultural knowledge and his grasp of the skills 

required to live in that culture (Ang & Van Dyne, 2009; Dehmeche, 2015). 

 

Cognition  

Cognition implies a person's understanding of the similarities and differences between different 

cultures. This includes general knowledge about social, legal, religious and historical systems 

about the culture in which an individual lives (Dehmeche, 2015; Earley & Ang, 2003). 

 

Motivations  

Motivations refer to the reasons that drive an individual to interact with another culture. It greatly 

influences interaction, learning, and living in a culturally different environment, as well as the 

individual's feeling of self-assurance that drives him to positive interaction with that culture 

(Shannon & Begley, 2008). 

 

Behavior 

It refers to the behavioral response and reaction of an individual. This requires an individual to 

modify some verbal and non-verbal behaviors while communicating with a different cultural 

environment (Earley & Ang, 2003; Shannon & Begley, 2008). 

The importance of cultural intelligence lies in reducing the use of stereotypes during 

communication and cultural interaction. Cultural intelligence also enhances the adaptation of the 

individual in multiple cultural contexts (Dehmeche, 2015). Moreover, cultural intelligence plays a 

major role in the decision-making process and behavior during the interaction of the individual 

with people from multiple cultures (Shehrani, 2012). 

The cultural and educational environment contributes to the individual's adaptation to his 

academic environment. An individual's perceptions of himself and his abilities play a major role 

in his cultural and academic adjustment (Hartini et al., 2017). The individual's perception of his 

self-efficacy is one of the main determinants of his behavior in various life situations. This 

prompted a number of researchers to study the impact of cultural and environmental variables on 

these perceptions (Alersan, 2017; Harter, 1982). It was found that positive academic self-efficacy 

is such an important requirement for a student who lives in an environment culturally different 

from his society (Hartini et al., 2017). 

 

Academic Self-Efficacy  

The term of self-efficacy refers to an individual's beliefs about his capabilities and abilities to 

succeed in performing certain tasks (Betz, 2004). Sharf (2000) holds that academic self-efficacy 

refers to an individual's expectation that he is capable of performing educational tasks that achieve 

desirable results in a given situation. Students with high academic self-efficacy believe that they 

can undertake a learning behavior at a specific time. But students who are characterized by having 

low academic self-efficacy see themselves as incapable of performing educational tasks that have 

positive effects and results on their academic achievement (Sharf, 2000). 

Academic self-efficacy means beliefs that a student forms about himself and his ability to 

organize and implement the actions necessary to succeed in the academic tasks (Cort, 2007). 

Assaid (2001) adds that academic self-efficacy is one of the most important components of 



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character strength. It occupies an important position in a student's motivation to undertake an 

academic work or activity. In addition to its ability to increase the student's ability to challenge 

and face difficulties in academic work (Alersan, 2017). There are several studies that have found 

a correlation between academic self-efficacy and students' academic adjustment (Baddareen & 

Ghaith, 2013; Elias & Loomis, 2000; Hirose et al., 1999; Thomas et al., 2009). It was found that 

high academic self-efficacy has effect positively on academic adjustment of students. 

 

Academic Adjustment  

Academic adjustment is one of the most important indicators of students' mental health (Tinto, 

1996). The adjustment process involves a set of behavioral reactions or responses which the 

individual modifies by them his psychological structure or behavior to match surrounding 

circumstances or with new experiences (Redwan, 2012). 

Academic adjustment refers to the degree which a student is successful in dealing with 

various educational requirements, such as motivation, performance and satisfaction with the 

academic environment (Baker & Siryk, 1999). It is a process that involves psychological and 

behavioral change as individuals strive to organize themselves to achieve balance in a new 

academic environment. They make continuous efforts to achieve the learning requirements and 

fulfill academic tasks (Quan et al., 2014). 

Many international students experience a culture shock when moving to a new country and 

culture, whether this shock is in the level or quality of the new cultural environment. They may 

also face difficulties adapting and integrating into the new academic environment. These 

difficulties, if not overcome, may lead to the emergence of some psychological and educational 

disturbances among students (Valka, 2015). 

Academic adaptation requires student to try to interact and communicate with elements of 

the academic environment (teachers, curriculum, colleagues, etc.) in a positive way. This calls for 

the student to develop his abilities and skills in learning techniques, tests and the language of 

communication with teachers (Rienties et al., 2012). The student is also expected to be more 

flexible in dealing with the new environment. In addition to developing a number of new behaviors 

and skills through which he can adapt to the new academic environment (McLean & Ransom, 

2005). 

 

Significance of Study 

In recent years, Turkey has attracted a large number of Yemeni students to study in Turkish 

universities. Statistical reports issued by the Council of Higher Education in Turkey for 2020 

indicated an increase in the number of Yemeni students studying in Turkish universities to 450% 

during the period 2016-2020. This increase in the number of students was accompanied by 

emergence some problems of adaptation and adjustment to the new environment. Especially the 

problems of academic adjustment and its impact on personal and social traits. For this reason, this 

study attempts to study the relationship between the locus of control, academic self-efficacy, 

cultural intelligence and academic adaptation among Yemeni students in Turkey. 

The importance of the current study stems from the importance of its variables. Moreover, 

it is the first study according to the researcher's knowledge that deals with the locus of control, 

academic self-efficiency, cultural intelligence and their relationship to academic adjustment. 

 

 

 



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Aims of Current Study 

The current study aims to examine the correlations between both of locus of control, academic 

self-efficacy, cultural intelligence and academic adjustment. The current study also seeks to predict 

academic adjustment from the locus of control, academic self-efficiency and cultural intelligence. 

In addition, the present study aims to examine whether cultural intelligence mediates the 

relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment. It also seeks to test the 

differences in the variables of study by gender, educational level and number of living years in 

Turkey. 

 

Questions of Current Study 

 Is there a correlation between variables of the study (locus of control, cultural intelligence, 

academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment)? 

 Can academic adjustment be predicted by locus of control, cultural intelligence and 

academic self-efficacy? 

 Does cultural intelligence mediate the relationship between academic self-efficacy and 

academic adjustment? 

 Is there an effect of demographic variables on variables of study (locus of control, cultural 

intelligence, academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment)? 

 

METHOD 

Participants 

In current study, 262 Yemeni students studying in various Turkish universities participated. Male 

participants are 199 (76%), and 63 are female (24%). The mean age of participants is 24.71. There 

are 180 of the participants are studying at the undergraduate level (68.7%), 54 participants are 

studying at the master’s level (20.6%) and 28 participants at the Ph.D level (10.7%). 

 

Instruments 

In order to collect the data of the current research, the following measures were used. 

 

List of Locus of Control 

To measure the locus of control (internal-external), a list taken from the Rotter's locus of control 

scale was developed. This list contains 29 general situations and behaviors and each situation has 

two ways to deal with it. One indicates an internal locus of control and the other indicates an 

external locus of control. There are 6 items in the scale that do not indicate the locus of control; 

they are stranger items to prevent the modularity of the response. The response is made on the 

scale by giving one score if the student chooses the situation that indicates the external locus of 

control. But, if the situation that indicates the internal locus of control was chosen the response is 

not given any score. A high score on the scale refers to an external locus of control, while a low 

score indicates an internal locus of control. This scale was translated to Arabic by Aylas (2017). 

The reliability of the scale was 0.66 by using test-retest method, and the value of Cornbrash's alpha 

was 0.67.  

 

Cultural Intelligence Scale 

This scale was developed by Van Dyne et al. (2009). It contains 20 items that measure four factors 

of cultural intelligence (metacognition, cognition, motivations and behavior). The response on the 

scale was by 7 points according to Likert-type. This scale was adapted to Arabic by Shehrani 



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(2012). The reliability of the scale was 0.76 by using split-half method, and the value of Cronbach's 

alpha was 0.75. A high score on the scale indicates a high level of cultural intelligence. 

 

College Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (CASES) 

This scale was developed by Owen and Fromen (1988). It contains 33 items that measure the 

academic adjustment of students. The response on the scale is by five points according to Likert-

type. The scale includes positive and negative items and the rating points are reversed in negative 

items. This scale was adapted to Arabic by Baddareen and Ghaith (2013). The reliability of the 

scale was 0.84 by using test-retest method, and the value of Cronbach's alpha was 0.89. A high 

score on the scale indicates a high score of academic self-efficacy.  

 

The Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) 

SACQ was used to measure the academic adjustment of students. This scale was developed by 

Baker and Sirke (1999). It contains 20 items that measure the academic adjustment of students. 

The response on the scale is by 6 points according to Likert-type. The scale includes positive and 

negative items, the rating points are reversed in negative items. This scale was translated to Arabic 

by Baddareen and Ghaith (2013). The reliability of the scale was 0.81 by using test-retest method, 

and the value of Cronbach's alpha was 0.85. A high score on the scale indicates a high score of 

academic adjustment.  

 

Demographic Information Form 

Some demographic information were collected using the demographic information form. It 

contains information regarding the participants like gender, age, years of living in Turkey and how 

many languages the student knows. 

 

Procedures 

Initially, an application for ethical approval was submitted to Ethical Committee at Ankara 

Yıldırım Beyazıt University. After obtaining the approval, the Yemeni Students Union in Turkey 

was contacted in order to reach the participants in an easy way. The study scales were sent to the 

participants online due to the quarantine conditions of the Corona pandemic. Finally, the data were 

prepared for analysis. 

 

Data Analysis 

The research data were analyzed by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences 26th version and 

Jamovi 1.6.12 version. Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation and frequencies 

were used. In addition to analysis of variance, t-tests, Pearson correlation coefficient and 

regression analysis were calculated to find the research results. In all results, the 0.05 significant 

level was used as a statistical criterion for interpretation the results. 

 

RESULTS 

Correlation between Variables of Study 

In order to test the correlation between variables of study Pearson correlation coefficient was 

calculated. Results in Table (1) show that there are statistically significant correlations between all 

variables of study (locus of control, cultural intelligence, academic self-efficacy and academic 

adjustment). Positive correlations were found between academic self-efficacy, cultural intelligence 

and academic adjustment. Moreover, there are negative correlations between locus of control and 



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other variables (academic self-efficacy, cultural intelligence and academic adjustment). That 

means that students with external locus of control have low scores in academic self-efficacy, 

cultural intelligence and academic adjustment. However, students with internal locus of control 

have high scores in academic self-efficacy, cultural intelligence and academic adjustment. 

 

Table 1. Correlation Coefficients between Variables of Study 

 

Variables (1) (2) (3) (4) 

1. Locus of control 1    

2. Academic self-efficacy -.207-** 1   

3. Cultural intelligence -.130-* .462** 1  

4. Academic adjustment -.210-** .600** .233** 1 
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level. 

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level. 

 

Predicting Academic Adjustment 

In order to predict academic adjustment from locus of control, cultural intelligence and academic 

self-efficacy, multiple linear regression using enter method was conducted. The result of 

regression in Table 2 indicated that the overall model was a statistically significant predictor of 

academic adjustment, F(3,258) = 52.623, p > 0.05, R2 = 0.380. Results show that there is a 

significant positive relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment, β = 

0.602, t(262) = 10.724, p < 0.05. On the other hand, there is a significant negative relationship 

between locus of control and academic adjustment, β = –.131, t(262) = –2.621, p < 0.05. However, 

the cultural intelligence was not significantly related to academic adjustment, β = –.062, t(262) = 

–1.118, p < 0.05. That means that both locus of control and academic self-efficacy were significant 

predictors of academic adjustment.  

 

Table 2. The Relationship between Academic Adjustment and Predictor Variables 

 

 Predictor Variables β t Sig. 

 (Constant)  6.176 .000 

Locus of control -.131- -2.621- .009 

Cultural intelligence -.062- -1.118- .265 

Academic self-efficacy .602 10.724 .000 

 

The Mediating Effect of Cultural Intelligence 

To determine whether cultural intelligence mediates the relationship between academic self-

efficacy and academic adjustment, the mediation estimates were tested. The mediation estimates 

and percent of mediation for indirect, direct and total of the effect were showed in Table 3. Results 

showed that direct effect of academic self-efficacy on academic adjustment was significant effect, 

p < 0.05. But, the indirect effect academic self-efficacy on academic adjustment with cultural 

intelligence was not significant effect, p> 0.05. That means that cultural intelligence does not 

mediate the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment. 

 

 

 



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Table 3. Mediation Estimates 

 

Effect Label Estimate SE Z p % Mediation 

Indirect a × b -0.0338 0.0334 -1.01 0.311 4.02 

Direct c 0.8089 0.0718 11.27 < .001 95.98 

Total c + a × b 0.7751 0.0638 12.15 < .001 100.00 

 

Effect of Demographic Variables 

Differences on Locus of Control 

To test differences on locus of control by demographic variables, factorial ANOVA was used. 

Results show that there are not differences on locus of control due to gender, education level or 

living years in Turkey (see Table 4). 

 

Table 4. Factorial ANOVA Result of Locus of Control  

 

Variables  
Sum of 

Squares 
df 

Mean 

Square 
F P η² 

Gender 36.4 1 36.44 2.536 0.113 0.009 

Education level 46.9 2 23.47 1.633 0.198 0.012 

Living years in Turkey 19.3 4 4.82 0.335 0.854 0.005 

Gender ✻ Edu. Level 107.0 2 53.49 3.722 0.026 0.028 

Gender ✻ Living years 76.2 4 19.05 1.326 0.261 0.020 

Edu. level ✻ Living years 110.2 7 15.75 1.096 0.367 0.029 

Gender ✻ Edu. ✻ Living years 60.8 5 12.17 0.846 0.518 0.016 

Residuals 3392.1 236 14.37    

 

Differences on Academic Self-Efficacy  

To test differences on academic self-efficacy by demographic variables, factorial ANOVA was 

used. Result in Table 5 shows that there are differences on academic self-efficacy due to education 

level, F(2,236) = 4.865, p > 0.05, η² = 0.037. Post Hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test 

indicated that the mean score for the Ph.D students (M= 3.88, SD = 0.45) was significantly higher 

than bachelor's students (M= 3.47, SD= 0.59). However, the mean score of master's students (M= 

3.60, SD= 0.56) did not significantly differ from mean score of bachelor and Ph.D students. 

 

Table 5. Factorial ANOVA Result of Academic Self-Efficacy  

 

Variables  
Sum of 

Squares 
df 

Mean 

Square 
F P η² 

Gender 0.791 1 0.7905 2.400 0.123 0.009 

Education level 3.205 2 1.6027 4.865 0.009 0.037 

Living years in Turkey 1.658 4 0.4144 1.258 0.287 0.019 

Gender ✻ Edu. Level 0.109 2 0.0543 0.165 0.848 0.001 

Gender ✻ Living years 0.445 4 0.1113 0.338 0.852 0.005 

Edu. level ✻ Living years 2.219 7 0.3170 0.962 0.460 0.025 

Gender ✻ Edu. ✻ Living years 1.287 5 0.2573 0.781 0.564 0.015 

Residuals 77.744 236 0.3294    



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Differences on Cultural Intelligence 

To test differences on cultural intelligence by demographic variables, factorial ANOVA was used. 

Result shows that there are not differences on cultural intelligence by gender, education level or 

living years in Turkey (see Table 6). 

 

Table 6. Factorial ANOVA Result of Cultural Intelligence  

 

Variables  
Sum of 

Squares 
df 

Mean 

Square 
F P η² 

Gender 0.0762 1 0.0762 0.0877 0.767 0.000 

Education level 1.6804 2 0.8402 0.9673 0.382 0.007 

Living years in Turkey 7.6149 4 1.9037 2.1916 0.071 0.033 

Gender ✻ Edu. Level 0.5068 2 0.2534 0.2917 0.747 0.002 

Gender ✻ Living years 4.5769 4 1.1442 1.3172 0.264 0.020 

Edu. level ✻ Living years 6.3017 7 0.9002 1.0364 0.406 0.027 

Gender ✻ Edu. ✻ Living years 8.1107 5 1.6221 1.8674 0.101 0.035 

Residuals 205.01 236 0.8687    

 

Differences on Academic Adjustment 

To test differences on academic adjustment by demographic variables, factorial ANOVA was 

used. Result in Table 7 shows that there are differences on academic adjustment due to education 

level, F(2,236) = 11.269, p > 0.05, η² = 0.047. Also, there are significant differences between 

female students (M= 4.36, SD= 0.69) and male students (M= 3.95, SD= 0.74).       

Post Hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicated that the mean score for the Ph.D 

students (M= 4.76, SD = 0.64) was significantly higher than mean score of bachelor's students (M= 

3.95, SD= 0.77) and mean score of master's students (M= 4.06, SD= 0.58). However, the mean 

score of master's students did not significantly differ from mean score of bachelor's students. 

 

Table 7. Factorial ANOVA Result of Academic Adjustment  

 

Variables  
Sum of 

Squares 
df 

Mean 

Square 
F P η² 

Gender 8.059 1 8.059 16.620 < .001 0.055 

Education level 10.930 2 5.465 11.269 < .001 0.074 

Living years in Turkey 0.606 4 0.152 0.313 0.869 0.004 

Gender ✻ Edu. Level 1.916 2 0.958 1.976 0.141 0.013 

Gender ✻ Living years 2.544 4 0.636 1.312 0.266 0.017 

Edu. level ✻ Living years 5.496 7 0.785 1.619 0.131 0.037 

Gender ✻ Edu. ✻ Living years 3.543 5 0.709 1.461 0.203 0.024 

Residuals 114.44 236 0.485    

 

DISCUSSIONS 

The results of the current study found that there is a significant correlation among the locus of 

control, academic self-efficacy, cultural intelligence and academic adjustment. This result is 

consistent with the results of Sagone and De Caroli (2014), Thompson et al. (2020) and Drago et 

al. (2018), which found a significant correlation between the locus of control and self-efficacy. 



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The current results are similar to the results of the studies of Nguyen et al. (2018) and Hu et al. 

(2018) that found a correlation between academic self-efficacy and cultural intelligence. In 

addition, results are similar to the results of the study of Cazan (2012), Poyrazli et al. (2002) and 

Thomas et al. (2009) that found a relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic 

adjustment. 

The results of the current study can be interpreted in the way that the students who have an 

internal control center have a higher level of self-efficacy because they see themselves as being 

able to overcome the difficulties they face. Individuals' perceptions of themselves help them 

identify the underlying causes of many successes and failures in their lives, thus their adaptation 

to the environment which they live in. In addition, cultural intelligence helps individuals to 

integrate and adapt in their academic life, especially when students move to another country to 

study. The role of cultural intelligence is not limited to increasing the individual's knowledge about 

the new cultural, but also it goes to the individual's response to adaptive behaviors and positive 

interaction with the new culture. Therefore, the cultural intelligence may help international 

students adjust to the new environment. In addition, individuals' positive perceptions of their 

academic abilities play an important role in their academic adjustment, not only through adaptive 

behaviors, but also it helps students face academic difficulties and challenges. 

Results show that academic adjustment was predicted from locus of control and academic 

self-efficacy. This result is similar to the results of the studies of Drago et al. (2018) and 

Ogunmakin and Akomolafe (2013). The present results support the results of the study of Ward et 

al. (2011) which concluded that culture intelligence is not a predictor of academic adjustment. 

However, this result contradicts the result of Shu et al. (2017), which concluded that cultural 

intelligence is a predictor of academic adjustment. 

Current results indicate that academic self-efficacy is more predictive of academic 

adjustment. This finding can be explained by the fact that adjustment in general is related to a 

person's perceptions of the environment in which they live. This reinforces the importance of an 

individual's perception of the reasons leading to his academic adjustment. The individual's 

perception of the causes affecting his adaptation contributes to the way he deals with the elements 

of the new environment. This means that the degree of an individual's adaptation to his 

environment can be increased by enhancing his self-efficacy, in addition to supporting the 

individual in focusing on the subjective causes that help him increase his internal locus of control. 

The current result did not support the mediation effect of cultural intelligence on the 

relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment. That means that academic 

self-efficacy directly affects academic adjustment. Cultural intelligence plays an auxiliary role, not 

a mediator between academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment. This can be explained by the 

fact that cultural intelligence is concerned with the capabilities of the individual and his 

employment in cultural communication more than the individual's perceptions about himself. Thus 

cultural intelligence contributes to academic adaptation differently from academic self-efficacy. 

This explains why there is a correlation between them. In addition, academic self-efficacy is related 

to individual's perceptions of himself more than with the cultural environment. 

The current results showed that there are statistically significant differences on academic 

self-efficacy and academic adjustment attributable to educational level. These results are 

consistent with the results of study of Altunsoy et al. (2010), Johnson (2011) and Satici and Can 

(2016), which concluded that there are differences in academic self-efficacy attributable to 

educational level. However, the current results are not similar with results of study of Kyalo and 

Chumba (2011), which concluded that there are no differences in academic adjustment attributable 



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to educational level. This result can be explained by the fact that when student advances in 

educational levels his experiences become more and he acquires the skills that enhance his self-

confidence and his view toward himself. This is consistent with Schunk's (2003) finding that the 

academic self-efficacy was influenced by the experiences of the individual more than other 

psychological concepts such as self-concept. 

The present results indicated that there are statistically significant differences on academic 

adjustment attributable to gender. Female students were more adjusted than male students. These 

results are consistent with the results of study of Kiang et al. (2012) and Sanchez et al. (2005), 

which concluded that there are differences in academic adjustment due to gender. This can be 

explained by the fact that most of Yemeni female students in Turkey represent the elite of female 

students. The culture of Yemeni society does not allow a girl to travel outside her city to study, let 

alone outside the country. This means that the female participates in current study have overcome 

many difficulties to continue their education. This, in turn, helped them cope better. In addition, 

some male students are working to cover study expenses, while most study expenses of female 

students are covered by the family or have scholarship. 

 

CONCLUSION 

In this study, the correlations between both of locus of control, academic self-efficacy, cultural 

intelligence and academic adjustment among Yemeni students in Turkey were examined. The 

current results found that there are statistically significant correlations between all variables of 

study. Academic self-efficacy and locus of control were predictors of academic adjustment, while 

cultural intelligence was not a good predictor of academic adjustment. Cultural intelligence did 

not mediate the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment. It was 

found that there are differences in academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment attributable to 

educational level. Also, there are differences in academic adjustment due to gender. However, 

there were no differences in the study variables attributed to the number of living years in Turkey. 

 

LIMITATIONS 
In this study, there are some limitations. It is not easy to generalize the current results as the number 

of participants in the current study represents only 7% of the total number of Yemeni students in 

Turkey. Academic adjustment was measured as one factor in the current study. It will be good in 

future studies to deal with more than one dimension in academic adaptation (e.g. adjustment to 

specialization, adjustment to the academic environment). In addition, there are some factors related 

to academic adjustment that were not addressed in the current study, such as satisfaction with 

specialization. 

SUGGESTIONS 
For future studies, it is suggested to study the causal relationship between the variables covered in 

the current study. It is suggested to conduct a cross-cultural study in the academic adjustment of 

international students in Turkey, in addition to studying the influence of some cultural factors on 

academic self-efficacy, such as foreign language proficiency and cultural intelligence. It will be a 

good idea to develop a new scale of academic self-efficacy that includes transcultural factors that 

contribute to an individual's perceptions of their academic abilities. 

 

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS 

Conceptualization: Ahmed Gamal Ahmed Gawas 

Data Curation: Ahmed Gamal Ahmed Gawas 



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Formal Analysis: Ahmed Gamal Ahmed Gawas 

Funding Acquisition: Ahmed Gamal Ahmed Gawas 

Investigation: Ahmed Gamal Ahmed Gawas 

Methodology: Ahmed Gamal Ahmed Gawas 

Project Administration: Ahmed Gamal Ahmed Gawas 

Resources: Ahmed Gamal Ahmed Gawas 

Software: Ahmed Gamal Ahmed Gawas 

Supervision: Ahmed Gamal Ahmed Gawas 

Validation: Ahmed Gamal Ahmed Gawas 

Visualization: Ahmed Gamal Ahmed Gawas 

Writing – Original Draft: Ahmed Gamal Ahmed Gawas 

Writing – Review & Editing: Ahmed Gamal Ahmed Gawas 

  

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT 

The author declares that he has no competing interests.  

 

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Copyrights  

Copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the 

journal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative 

Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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